The Overcoming
by Charmedfan90
Summary: Sequel to Breaking Through the Haze. Andros was able to save his team, his friends...but can he help them overcome the short hell they went through as well as continuing to fight Dark Specter and his forces?
1. Chapter 1

It had been several weeks since Andros had rescued his friends; his family. He was trying to help them get over the small couple hours that they were at the school, but it was proving harder than he thought it would. He knew that they were slowly getting over what had happened, but it was affecting Karone the most. A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, and he stood up from his bed to go open the door. Zhane had finally managed to give Andros his own room on the ship. He opened the door, expecting to see Ashley there. He saw his little sister, and she seemed reluctant to be there. "Hey..." Andros said, keeping his hands where they were. Last time he tried to touch Karone, she ran off. In fact, any male that touched her she got like this.

"Um...never mind," she said, going to walk back towards her room.

"Karone...wait," he said, resisting the urge to put his hand on her shoulder to physically restrain her. "Did you want to talk?"

"No...I'm fine," she said, the reluctance and fear that was plastered on her face was now gone. He was surprised to see her face was slack, no emotions were on it at all. Before Andros could say anything, she walked off. He ran a hand through his long hair and let out a sigh. He knew that Karone wouldn't talk to him, but maybe she would talk to Zhane. Leaving his room, he looked for Zhane.

Karone knew that Zhane was probably going to be in their room, but she didn't want to see him. She knew that he was only trying to help her, but she couldn't help but shrink away from him. Instead of turning to the hallway that led to her and Zhane's room, she went towards the holodeck. Maybe after punching away some of her fears on the punching bag. Tapping a couple buttons on the wall in the holodeck, and the cold metallic room turned into a gym. Karone pulled out a hair tie and pulled her hair back. She walked over to the punching bag, and pulled on a pair of boxing gloves. She started to rain punches on it, just thinking.

As Andros was looking for his friend, he got impatient. "DECA, where is Zhane?" he asked.

"Zhane is currently heading towards the holodeck," DECA replied immediately. The silver ranger turned around and within seconds he saw Zhane. "Zhane!" he called out. He stopped, and turned to face Andros.

"Hey Andros," Zhane said after a moment. "You seen Karone anywhere?" he questioned.

"Actually that is why I came looking for you. Has Karone been talking to you?" Andros asked after a moment.

"No...she has been really avoiding me," Zhane sighed sadly. "She is closing herself off from me...I was thinking about calling my parents, but if she is acting like this..."

"I think she is just scared," Andros murmured.

"I wish she would talk to me about this," Zhane sighed softly. "She's in the holodeck," He was hoping that she would open up to him. "Though I am not sure if she is going to talk to me..." he said as they approached the holodeck. Andros attempted to open the doors, but they wouldn't budge. Zhane frowned, "DECA open the doors," he said.

"Karone doesn't wish to be disturbed," DECA replied. The clearly stressed out red ranger let out a sigh. Andros saw as Zhane walk away, and he tried to open the door once again.

"DECA open the door up...now," Andros demanded, and DECA reluctantly opened the door. He saw Karone building up a sweat. He saw pain lightly in her eyes. "Karone..."

"DECA wasn't supposed to let anyone in," Karone said shortly. She took off the gloves, and her brother frowned when he saw that her knuckles were all bloodied up.

"Karone," he said, taking her hands in his. She stiffened when his skin touched hers. He ignored her, and started to bring her towards the infirmary. "Come on...we are getting this cleaned up," he said, going all big brother on her.

"I'm fine Andros," she said, pushing him away from her. "Why don't you go see how the rest of the team is doing?" she shot, as she approached the mat.

"They are at school still," Andros reminded her. "Karone...look, I know it helped me after a while to talk about what happened. Please let me help you..." Andros pleaded.

"I...I don't need any help," Karone shot at him. "Now just leave me alone," as she started a gymnastics routine. Andros didn't leave, and his little sister noticed after a minute. "Andros, go away,"

"Not until you talk to me," Andros said in a firm voice.

"Andros...please," Karone whispered, going back to the old her for just a moment, "not right now."

Seeing how her like this made Andros break down. "Ok...but only if you go to the infirmary to clean your knuckles up," Karone looked apprehensive, but nodded her head. She let her brother take her by the elbow, and started to lead her to the infirmary.

"I can walk there myself," she said, shrugging his hand off of her. She zipped out of his grasp, and headed for the infirmary herself. Andros let out a sigh, maybe he could get Ashley to talk to his little sister.

As Karone entered the infirmary she stopped when she saw Zhane there. Alpha turned to her, and immediately spotted her knuckles all bruised and bloodied. "Ai yi yi yi yi," Alpha exclaimed. The robot walked over to Karone and started to clean her up. Zhane saw Karone, and immediately hopped off the cot.

"Karone..." she looked at Zhane. "Alpha...I can take over," Alpha let Zhane take over. Zhane just took her hand in his. He hated all the hostility that he was feeling from her. "This is going to sting a little," she didn't flinch as he cleaned up her hands. Even after he bandaged up her hands, he kept them in his. He took a dare, and pulled her to him. She was stiff at first, but she relaxed against him.

"Zhane..." she murmured, leaning into him. He smiled softly; it was the first time since he got out of the infirmary since he had been able to hold her like this. His hand started to run up and down her back. She stiffened when she felt his hands on the small of her back.

"What's wrong?" he breathed, pulling away slightly. She wouldn't talk to him; and he had no idea how to help her if she wouldn't talk to him.

"Its nothing," she murmured, starting to pull away.

"Karone...its not nothing," Zhane said, keeping her against him. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?" he questioned. She stayed silent, "Whatever it is Karone, you know I am not going to judge you," he assured her. She looked up at his face, and saw nothing but love and compassion. Nothing like that guy that was trying to feel her up at that evil place. "Karone.." he murmured, placing a hand tenderly on her face.

"I..." Karone started. He looked down patiently at her, "Its just...that..." she wasn't so sure how Zhane would react. He sat down next to her, and wrapped is arms around her. She felt safe in his arms again.

"I know its hard to talk about..." he murmured, "so whenever you are ready to talk, I'm willing to listen," he whispered into her ear. She just nodded her head, resting against it against his shoulder. Zhane held her for a little while longer, before she started to pull away. "Hey..." he murmured. "Its ok, you are safe," he promised. "I am not going to let anything happen to you...you are safe with me,"

He pulled her onto his lap, and she stiffened again. "What happened to you while we were in there?" he questioned.

"One of the guys started to...to..." Karone stammer. Zhane's blood started to boil, and she squeezed him gently. "Andros killed him..." Zhane calmed down slightly.

"I didn't know Karone...I'm sorry," he mumbled, brushing his lips lightly against hers.

"Zhane...I'm sorry I didn't tell you..."

"No..no," he murmured, holding her tightly. "Its ok...I'm here now," he promised. He winced as she squeezed against him.

"What?" she asked, "wait you are hurt still aren't you?" she asked, starting to pull away.

"You didn't know," he whispered, started to move his hands down from the top of her back to the small of her back. She suddenly pushed him away, "Karone...what's-,"

"Its...its...nothing," she stammered. He reached out for her again, but she shirked away from him.

"Karone-," he started to stand.

"Umm...yeah...I forgot that I had plans with Ashley and Cassie...you know girls day out," Karone lied, sprinting out of the infirmary. Zhane shook his head, running a hand through his short hair. He thought he had made some progress with Karone, and suddenly she ran away. He let out a sigh, a part of him wanted to follow Karone, but he knew that would just make her shirk away more. Maybe talking to his parents would help; it had been a while since he had rang them anyway.

As Karone was jogging towards the teleportation room, she nearly collided with Andros. "Hey...where's the fire?"

"No fire," Karone said, stepping away from Andros.

"Its just an expression Karone," Andros said.

"Well...yeah...gotta go," she murmured, and felt her older brother stop her once again. "I'm going to go hang out with Ashley and Cassie," she fibbed again.

"Ashley didn't say anything about that..." he said. Instead of saying anything, she went into the teleportation room. "Karone.." he called out, but she was already on Earth.

Karone sighed, and pushed her messy hair back. Ashley rounded the corner hanging out with some other girls. The yellow ranger's face registered in surprise, but she shooed away the other girls. She approached Karone, and smiled. "Hey," Ashley said, walking next to her. "How you holding up?"

"I don't know Ashley," she murmured softly. If it was Andros, Zhane, or any of the other male rangers, she would said she was fine. She knew that they were her friends, but she still felt antsy around them.

"What's going on?" she questioned. Karone looked at Ashley, and she was glad to find a sister inside of her friend. She could trust Ashley not to say anything to Zhane or Andros.

"I...it's hard to explain," she murmured.

"I can't even imagine what happened to you in there," Ashley said, patting her shoulder lightly. Karone just nodded her head. "Lets go grab a shake..." she said, "and we can talk about it if you want," the purple ranger smiled, and nodded her head. Cassie walked over to them, guitar in her hand. Karone didn't seem to mind, and she met up with them.

"Hey Karone..." Cassie said with a pleasant smile.

"We are just going out for a Shake," Ashley answered.

"I'll get everyone else over-," Karone shook her head, "why...something wrong Karone?"

"I don't want to talk about it in front of the guys," Karone said to her. Cassie nodded her head, and they headed for the Surf Shack. Cassie knew that probably out of the rangers that were in the school, Karone had it the toughest. As Adele was taking their orders, Karone thought back to when she was talking with Zhane. She remembered his face when she had just pulled away like that. He had looked hurt; she had given him a false sense of hope. She didn't want to hurt Zhane...

"Karone..." Ashley said, lightly tapping her shoulder. That snapped Karone out of her thinking, and shr shook her head.

"I'm sorry...what were you saying?" she asked, rubbing her temples.

"I wasn't saying anything," Ashley said. "I was just getting you your shake," the yellow ranger placed the cup in front of her.

"Thanks..." Karone murmured, ladling the cup in her hands.

"So...what did you want to talk about?" Ashley questioned.

"I...I can't seem to be around any one..." Karone murmured, looking down at the drink in her hands. "Andros and Zhane...or Carlos or TJ," she murmured.

"Its ok to feel that way..." Cassie assured her.

"I don't like that I feel this way...Zhane has always..always been there for me," she whispered, tears getting into her eyes. "And I'm not the only who's hurting...and I can't be there for him without getting scared," they started to fall freely from her eyes.

"Hey...its ok," Ashley said to her, and wrapped an arm around the sobbing girl. "Zhane will understand...and your brother will too," she assured the broken girl. Karone just shook her head, putting her head into her hands.

Hours passed and it was getting into the late hours of the night. Karone was on the bridge, looking through records on Dark Specter. Zhane had been watching her for the past couple minutes. She hadn't noticed that he walked in, and he was just looking at her. He decided that was enough for her, she needed to take a break. "Karone...I think you need a break," she jumped in her seat, and he immediately felt bad. He didn't mean to scare her. "Its just me," he said to her.

"Zhane," she murmured, she went back to the computer.

"Karone..." he murmured in a soft voice, "do you know what time it is?" Karone shook her head, and he slowly approached her. He sat down on the computer counsel looking at her.

"I'm busy right now," she breathed not looking at him. She didn't want to break down in front of him again; she didn't want to hurt him by pushing him away again.

"It is the middle of the night..." he reminded her.

"Then go to bed if you are tired," she snapped at him irritably. He frowned at her, and she felt guilty for snapping at him. "I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Its ok hon," he murmured. He knew what almost happened to her, and he also knew it was going to take her some time to get over it. Zhane just wished that he could help her pain go away faster, he hated seeing her like this. She turned to look at him, and saw sadness behind his eyes. "Alright...I am going to go to bed..I'll wait up for you," he whispered. Karone smiled gratefully up at him, and he smiled in return.

"Thanks..." she whispered. Zhane nodded his head, and he reached his hand out for her to take it. She reluctantly took his hand, and he squeezed it gently. He knew that sometimes actions spoke a lot louder than words for Karone. "I'll...I'll be there in a bit," she murmured. He nodded his head, and squeezed her hand one more time before leaving her alone once again. She knew that her boyfriend was offering an olive branch, and he wasn't pushing anything on her. She once again started up on the bridge controls. After another ten or twenty minutes, Karone started for her and Zhane's room.

She sneaked in quietly, and saw Zhane on the couch. He had an open book on his chest, and he was snoring softly. She smiled seeing him asleep like that. She gently pulled on the blanket that he was sleeping on, and draped it over him. She went over towards their bed, and took off her shoes. She crawled into the bed, and tried to fall asleep. She tossed and turned on the bed, but couldn't find a way to get to sleep. She got up from their bed, and went towards the couch. She smiled slightly as she remembered that she would sometimes sneak into Zhane's bed to be near him. She pulled away the sheet slightly and Zhane muttered something incoherently. Karone chuckled, and gently laid down on top of him. His eyes opened up slightly, "Hey," he murmured.

"..Hi..." she whispered. She was hoping that he would just stay asleep, but that wasn't the case. He lightly wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a chance to push him away, but she didn't. She laid her head on his chest. She felt his heart beating against her ear, and she found comfort in that. He secured his arms around her.

"I love you Karone," he murmured, tugging on the blanket to cover them both.

"I...I love you too," she mumbled sleepily. He smiled, and felt her snuggled into him. She must have been really overworking herself if she fell asleep only after a minute or two of just laying down. He made a note to try to get Karone to rest more. He yawned and felt himself fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Zhane expected Karone to be sleeping still when he woke up, and felt saddened when she wasn't there. He sat up and saw her laying down on their bed. He got up, and saw that she was asleep again. He bit down the urge to lay down next to her, and instead pulled gently on the sheets, and brought them around her sleeping form. Zhane placed his lips softly on Karone's, and pulled away looking at her. "I miss you," he whispered, brushing her hair from her face with his palm. Her eyes opened up, and he stopped stroking her face. "Sorry..." he mumbled, starting to pull away.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, and he stilled his movements. She sat up, and gently patted the empty space next to her. He looked at her then the bed, and slowly sat down next to her. Her arms wrapped around him, and he immediately did the same.

"Its ok," he murmured, not completely bringing her in his arms. He didn't want Karone to push him away if he held her like he wanted to. She looked up at his face, and let out a soft sigh. She wished she could get over her fear; she knew that Zhane wouldn't ever hurt her. She tried to keep her fear down as she leaned in closer to Zhane. He seemed really surprised when she made this much contact with him. He tightened his arms around her, leaning his chin on the top of her head. "You doing ok?" he questioned, not wanting to take this gesture the wrong way.

"I wish I could stop hurting you," she murmured.

"Its ok Karone..." he breathed, "I understand...I know it was horrible for you there..."

"But it was really bad for you too," she reminded him.

"Thinking about holding you in my arms like this kept me sane," he whispered.

"It...it did?" she questioned. He nodded his head, "I wish that I could have had that luxury..." he tightened his arms around her.

"I wish I could make this pain go away Karone," he whispered. "You are the most important thing here in my life..."

"You too," she breathed. They stayed in comfortable silence for a what seemed like forever.

"Do you remember what I said to you when we were little?" he asked suddenly. She pulled away slightly to look up at him questioningly. "It was a few weeks after Andros and your parents got kidnapped...you had hurt your knee while you were chasing after the telekinesis ball," She bit her lip, and slowly started to remember the day.

He waited a few moments, and realization dawned on her face, "You said you would always be there for me..."

"And that one day I would marry you so that you getting hurt wouldn't be possible," he murmured. She felt a real smile come on to her face as she remembered the warm memory.

"I can't believe I almost forgot about that," she murmured guiltily, her smile dampening. "So...did you really mean that when you said that?" she questioned curiously.

"I really did mean it Karone," he answered without any hesitation. "Still do," he breathed quietly. He wasn't even sure that she heard him.

"Wha-, what?" she stammered.

"Never mind..." he murmured, starting to pull away. _Stupid stupid stupid_ he kept thinking to himself. This wasn't something Karone wanted to hear right now was it? She stopped him once again, "Karone..." he murmured.

"Zhane...was that a proposal?" she asked after a moment.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I guess it was more warming you up to the idea..." he didn't think that she would say anything right at this moment, so he hoped that changing the subject would clear the matter. "Its ok...we don't have to worry about it now...what do you want to do?" he asked.

"I kinda just like laying here with you," she murmured.

"Ok," he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. He leaned back slowly, and with her secure in his arms.

"Zhane..." she murmured.

"What's wrong babe?" he asked in a soft voice. She just leaned her head on his shoulder. "It'll be ok Karone...I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again," he promised. She smiled against his shoulder, and felt her eyes closing.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?" he asked.

"I am being selfish..." she said in a quiet tone.

"For not being able to talk about anything...Karone, that is not something to apologize about. You are acting normal about this," he said in a hushed voice, still holding her close. She stiffened slightly, and he loosened his arms around her. "Sorry..."

"I know you wouldn't hurt me Zhane," she stated, "I don't mean to be like this," Zhane made a shushing noise, and kissed her temple.

"It is ok Karone," he murmured. "I love you," she smiled, and her body relaxed against him.

"You too," she murmured. His hand trailed up to her hair and he ran his hand through it a couple times.

"Do you want to get some breakfast?" Zhane questioned, giving her a slight squeeze. She lifted her head up from his chest and looked at him. She wasn't so sure if she wanted to go out there and risk running into the rest of the team.

"Um...I don't know," she whispered. She knew that she could talk to Zhane she elaborated more, "I am not sure how I would react if I ran into one of the other guys..." He frowned lightly, but was glad that at least she was opening up to him a little more. He pressed his lips against her forehead, and held her for a little while. He came up with another idea, and squeezed her gently again.

"How about I go grab us something to eat, and we can just stay here..." he offered her, hoping that she wouldn't push him away again. She smiled lightly, but it was the first real smile he had seen on her in a while.

"That sounds good," she admitted. His face bloomed into a grin, and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Ok, I'll be right back," he said, gently unwrapping his arms from around her.

"Zhane?" she questioned before he left the room. He turned around, and smiled lightly at her.

"Yeah Karone?" he questioned.

"Thanks for being so patient with me," she murmured.

"It will get better soon Karone...I promise," he said, giving her small smile. She nodded her head, and watched as Zhane left their room. He was so good to her, and she was glad that he was being so being understanding.

Zhane walked towards the Mess Hall, and saw Andros was there. "Hey Zhane," Andros called out.

"Hey," he said to his friend, grabbing two plates.

"How is Karone doing?" he asked.

"She is still really distant..." Zhane admitted with a sigh, "But she is slowly opening up to me again," he said with a small smile.

"Thats great," he said. "Has...has she mentioned anything about me acting like Demios?" he questioned softly.

"Why would she think that?" Zhane inquired.

"I wanted to get everyone out of there as fast as possible...and I wanted to make sure that I was able to destroy that place," he frowned.

"No...she didn't mention anything like that at all..." Zhane assured him. "Karone will come around eventually...you don't have to worry about it,"

"I...I know," Andros ran a hand through his hair. "Karone meeting you here for breakfast?" he questioned. Zhane shook his head, and saw Andros trying to hide a frown.

"She is still afraid...she barely tolerates me as it is," he said scratching his head lightly.

"Oh," Andros said. "Well...let her know I am here if she wants to talk," Andros murmured, before turning his gaze back to his food.

"Will do..." Zhane frowned as he left; feeling bad for his friend. He telekinetically opened up the door to his and Karone's room. "Karone...you in here?" he called out, not seeing her on the bed. She walked out of the bathroom, and was clad in a bathrobe.

"Yeah...was just taking a shower," she said to him. She looked at his face, "What's wrong?" she questioned.

"Ran into Andros..." Zhane said to her. "He seemed to think that you were scared of him again..." Karone frowned.

"I'm not afraid of him..." she murmured.

"You should talk to him..." Zhane advised.

"I...I will...in a while..." She stammered. He set the plates down on the bed, and walked over to her. He offered to pull her into a hug, and she fell into his embrace.

"I know...just do it soon ok?" he murmured into her hair.


End file.
